AHL Quick Hits: Full 14-game slate on tap tonight


LOOKING BACK:
In Thursday’s only action, Bates Battaglia had a goal and an assist in regulation and the winning goal in the shootout as Toronto ended Milwaukee’s 10-game home winning streak with a 3-2 triumph… On Wednesday, Trevor Lewis capped off a three-point night (1-2-3) with the overtime winner as Manchester dropped Providence, 3-2… Ville Leino scored twice in the shootout to help Grand Rapids past Rockford, 6-5… Rookie Chad Kolarik registered three points (1-2-3) to lead San Antono to a 5-3 win at Chicago… Tom Sestito recorded his second straight game-winning goal as Syracuse edged Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 2-1.

Wed 1/7
BRIDGEPORT 4, Houston 3 (SO)
GRAND RAPIDS 6, Rockford 5 (SO)
LOWELL 3, Portland 2
MANCHESTER 3, Providence 2 (OT)
Syracuse 2, W-B/SCRANTON 1
Hershey 3, NORFOLK 2
San Antonio 5, CHICAGO 3
Iowa 3, PEORIA 1
MANITOBA 3, Hartford 2 (OT)

Thu 1/8
Toronto 3, MILWAUKEE 2 (SO)


LOOKING AHEAD:
Two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams lock horns on Friday when Bridgeport (23-9-2-2) travels to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center to take on Providence (22-14-2-1)… The Bruins have won four straight at home and lead the league with 15 home victories (15-4-0-0), and the Sound Tigers bring a three-game points streak (2-0-1-0) into town… AHL All-Star Johnny Boychuk leads all defensemen with 34 points (9-25-34) and has a point in three straight (2-2-4)… Rookie Brad Marchand (2-6-8) and AHL All-Star Martins Karsums (3-4-7) are each riding four-game scoring runs… AHL All-Star Mike Iggulden (16-24-40) and Kurtis McLean (11-28-39) continue to pace Bridgeport’s offense… Ex-Bruin Ben Walter shows a six-game scoring streak (1-6-7) for the Sound Tigers.

Albany brings its three-game winning streak (tied for a season high) into Worcester on Friday night… All three River Rats victories during the streak have been by one-goal margins… AHL All-Star Michael Ryan is coming off a hat trick last Saturday against Bridgeport and has a point in five of his last six games (5-3-8)… Yannick Tifu shows six assists in six games since rejoining Albany on Dec. 27… Jakub Petruzalek scored twice in the Rats’ 5-4 win over Worcester on Oct. 17… AHL All-Star Ryan Vesce shows a five-game scoring streak (4-4-8) and leads the Sharks with 36 points overall (12-24-36)… Lukas Kaspar has seven points (3-4-7) in his last five contests… Worcester is 3-2-0-0 thus far on a franchise-long seven-game homestand.

Houston visits Hershey on Friday before traveling to Quad City and Chicago this weekend to conclude its eight-game road trip… The Aeros are 1-2-0-2 on the voyage but are coming off a 4-3 shootout loss to Bridgeport on Wednesday in which, for the second time in 11 days, they rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the final three minutes of regulation to force overtime… On Wednesday, the Aeros scored three times in 82 seconds during a major power play to tie the game… Jesse Schultz registered three points (1-2-3) in the Aeros’ 6-1 win over the Bears on Dec. 13 in Houston… Marco Rosa shows nine points (4-5-9) in his last eight contests… Hershey’s Alexandre Giroux has a goal in eight straight games (12-6-18) and a point in 12 straight (15-12-27) AHL matches, who have won three in a row… AHL leading scorer Keith Aucoin (14-35-49) has eight points (3-5-8) in his last three games, and Chris Bourque is on a six-game scoring streak (1-6-7).

(all times Eastern)
Fri 1/9
Philadelphia @ Grand Rapids, 7:00
Lake Erie @ Hamilton, 7:00
Houston @ Hershey, 7:00
Lowell @ Portland, 7:00
W-B/Scranton @ Binghamton, 7:05
Bridgeport @ Providence, 7:05
Albany @ Worcester, 7:05
Manchester @ Norfolk, 7:15
Hartford @ Springfield, 7:30
Syracuse @ Rochester, 7:35
Milwaukee @ San Antonio, 8:00
Manitoba @ Iowa, 8:05
Toronto @ Quad City, 8:05
Chicago @ Rockford, 8:30

Sat 1/10
Hartford @ Bridgeport, 7:00
Philadelphia @ Grand Rapids, 7:00
Albany @ Hershey, 7:00
Springfield @ Portland, 7:00
Rochester @ Binghamton, 7:05
Syracuse @ W-B/Scranton, 7:05
Lowell @ Worcester, 7:05
Manchester @ Norfolk, 7:15
Hamilton @ Lake Erie, 7:30
Peoria @ Chicago, 8:00
Milwaukee @ San Antonio, 8:00
Manitoba @ Iowa, 8:05
Houston @ Quad City, 8:05
Toronto @ Rockford, 8:05

Sun 1/11
Springfield @ Portland, 4:00
Lowell @ Providence, 4:05
Philadelphia @ Lake Erie, 5:00
Hershey @ W-B/Scranton, 5:05
Manitoba @ Peoria, 6:00
Hamilton @ Rochester, 6:05
Houston @ Chicago, 7:00

Mon 1/12
No games scheduled

Tue 1/13
Toronto @ Iowa, 8:05
San Antonio @ Rockford, 8:05
Milwaukee @ Manitoba, 8:30


ALUMNI WATCH:
On Thursday, 2007-08 AHL All-Rookie forward Bobby Ryan registered a hat trick in Anaheim’s 4-3 loss to Los Angeles… 2008 AHL All-Star Adam Pardy scored his first career NHL goal to help Calgary past the N.Y. Islanders, 5-2… Rookie Max Pacioretty, who has 22 points in 31 AHL games with Hamilton, netted his second NHL goal in Montreal’s 6-2 win over Toronto.


BY THE NUMBERS:
0 — Shorthanded goals allowed this season by Manitoba, the only AHL team yet to surrender one… The Moose open a two-game set on Friday at Iowa, which is tied for fourth in the AHL with seven shorthanded markers.


AHL LIVE:
AHL Live brings AHL action to your computer all season long with live video webcasts and highlights of every AHL game… Visit theahl.com or ahllive.com for details.

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